COLUMBIA, Mo. -- University of Michigan women's gymnastics assistant coach Shannon Welkerwas named head coach at the University of Missouri on Thursday (May 9) after spending the last five years at U-M.

"The University of Michigan is a truly special place and I'm so fortunate to have been able to spend the last five years of my life there," Welker said. "To be able to work, learn and grow alongside great coaches and student-athletes has been a true honor. While it wasn't an easy decision, I'm very excited about this opportunity for me and my family and I'm looking forward to leading the women's gymnastics program at the University of Missouri."

"I am very happy for Shannon and his family," added U-M head coach Bev Plocki. "This is a great move for Shannon, his wife, Molly, and their two sons. He has done a great job for us here at Michigan and is prepared to go and be a great head coach. We wish him all the very best in his future endeavors."

Welker primarily coached vault and floor exercise during his tenure at Michigan. This season, he coached junior Joanna Sampson(Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Moreland) to a national championship on floor exercise and also helped guide former U-M gymnast Kylee Botterman to a national championship in the all-around back in 2011. In five years, Welker has coached five Big Ten champions and nine NCAA Regional champions, while student-athletes in his events have received a total of 12 first or second team NCAA All-America honors (six on each apparatus). With Welker on the staff, Michigan reached the NCAA Championships three times (2010, 2011 -- Super Six, 2013), won three Big Ten titles (2009-11) and claimed two NCAA Regional crowns (2011, 2013).

A St. Louis, Mo., native, Welker was a four-year letterwinner at the University of Illinois at Chicago (1993-97), where he was a three-time team captain. He is a former NCAA All-American on floor exercise (1996) and was inducted into UIC's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.